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Return to Press Release, 10 October 2002
The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
A National Security Archive Documents Reader
Edited by Laurence Chang and Peter Kornbluh
Ordering information for this book is available at the W.W. Norton & Co. website. Or by phone:
800-233-4830 (U.S.)
717-346-2029 (Outside U.S.)
More images from the crisis, including U-2 and US Navy low-level photos of Soviet MRBM's and nuclear warhead bunkers from 14-23 October 1962.
More images from the height of the crisis, 24-28 October 1962.
Images from the November crisis, 29 October - 9 November 1962.
Listen to audio clips on the Cuban Missile Crisis from the Kennedy White House.
 
Listed below are links to reconnaissance photos and other images from the crisis leading up to the discovery of Soviet medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM) in Cuba. The photographs that make up the vast majority of this section come from the Dino A. Brugioni collection at the National Security Archive. Brugioni was a career CIA officer in charge of "all-source" intelligence and briefing preparation at the National Photographic Interpretation Center in 1962. He later authored Eyeball to Eyeball: The Inside Story of the Cuban Missile Crisis, (New York: Random House, 1990).
  1. The U-2 plane.
  1. August 29, 1962: U-2 photograph showing no construction at San Cristobal.
  1. August 29, 1962: U-2 photograph showing no construction at Guanajay.
  1. August 29, 1962: U-2 photograph of SA-2 surface-to-air missile (SAM) site under construction at La Coloma.
  1. Completed SA-2 missile site showing characteristic Star of David pattern.
  1. October 5, 1962: CIA chart of “reconnaissance objectives in Cuba.”
  1. Inside the CIA’s National Photographic Interpretation Center (NPIC), Washington D.C., 1962.
  1. September 15, 1962: photograph of the Soviet large-hatch ship Poltava on its way to Cuba.
  1. “Crateology” –  photograph of crates holding Komar guided-missile patrol boats on their way to Cuba, September 1962.
  1. Briefing version of the crate photograph with Komar image superimposed.
  1. September 26, 1962: U-2 photograph showing surface-to-surface cruise missile (named “Kennel” by the U.S., FKR in Soviet plans) launch area at Banes.
  1. CIA reference photograph of Soviet cruise missile in its air-launched configuration.
  1. September 28, 1962: photograph of Soviet ship Kasimov with IL-28 bomber fuselages in crates.
  1. October 14, 1962: U-2 photograph of a truck convoy approaching a deployment of Soviet MRBMs near Los Palacios at San Cristobal.  This photograph was the first one identified by NPIC on 15 October as showing Soviet medium-range ballistic missiles in Cuba.

Return to Press Release, 10 October 2002
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